HAMBURG, N.Y. – Hilbert College has announced the hiring of four new full time professors and the promotion of three from part time status to full time. Laura Dannebohm, J.D. (Criminal Justice), David Herring, Ph.D. (Psychology), Gerald Kissel, Ed.D. (Sports Management), and Jin Zhang, Doctoral candidate (Cybersecurity) have been named assistant professors. Claudia Guilmain (English) has been named a visiting assistant professor. She previously served as an adjunct in English. Scott Patronik (Cybersecurity) and Erin Warford, Ph.D. (Social Sciences) have been promoted to assistant professors, after previously serving in part time roles.
Dannebohm, who earned her Juris Doctorate from Western Michigan University – Cooley Law School, joins the criminal justice faculty at Hilbert. She is a practicing attorney and counselor at law. She has previously served as an assistant dean at Indiana Tech Law School and as a secondary education teacher at Norwell High School. She also has experience with the Michigan Department of Corrections and the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Herring, who earned his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Texas at El Paso, joins the Hilbert psychology department. He previously served as an assistant professor at Murray State University. Herring also served as an adjunct at Erie Community College and as a lecturer at Penn State Behrend.
Kissel, who earned his Ed.D. in sports administration from Temple University, joins the sports management faculty at Hilbert. He previously served as assistant professor and director of the sports management program at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa. He has also served as a visiting lecturer at the University of Wisconsin and a visiting assistant professor at Florida Institute of Technology, Ball State University and many others. Kissel has over 50 years of experience in professional and college athletics.
Zhang, who is a doctoral candidate in information technology at Towson University, joins the cybersecurity faculty at Hilbert. She was previously an adjunct professor and teaching assistant at Towson. She has also served as an associate professor at Hainan University in Haikou, China. Zhang was also a visiting scholar at Central Michigan University.
Guilmain has served a variety of roles during her four years at Hilbert including, adjunct in English, an admissions associate, and call center supervisor. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s in English and creative writing from Southern New Hampshire University.
Patronik has served on Hilbert’s cybersecurity faculty since its inception in 2015. He will transition to full time and the director of the cybersecurity program beginning this fall. Patronik also serves as Chief of Special Services for the Erie County Sheriff’s Office.
Warford, who earned her Ph.D. in Mediterranean archaeology from the University at Buffalo, has served as an adjunct at Hilbert since 2015. Additionally, she has been an adjunct at Canisius College and the University at Buffalo. In addition to teaching, Warford has also worked on several archaeological excavations in Europe.
Hilbert College, located in suburban Hamburg, N.Y., south of Buffalo, is a private four-year college founded in 1957 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition. With nearly 800 students, Hilbert is a dynamic Western New York college that offers career-focused majors, including one of the top criminal justice programs in the region, and more than 50 minors and concentrations. The college’s engaging, student-centered campus community offers numerous leadership, internship, and service learning opportunities from which students launch successful careers while making positive changes in their communities. The Hilbert Blueprint promotes a well-rounded student experience over four years – starting with the Foundations Seminar in the freshman year, followed by Sophomore Service, Junior Symposium, and culminating with the Senior Capstone. Hilbert has expanded its academic offerings with the college’s first graduate programs in criminal justice administration and public administration, including a track in health administration.